Tourism is usually associated with leisure and pleasure. However there are a lot of people who travel on business constantly as part of their job. People who are invited for trade shows, conferences or conventions, who need to close agreements, who are prospecting new customers and business opportunities, who must meet their peers in other international affiliates, who are supposed to follow some local projects up, etc.

These business travelers demand a well-organized agenda and outstanding services to help them to get a smooth trip with successful results. Understanding their priorities, their style and thinking are crucial aspects that can interfere positively in their busy routines and stressed journeys.

The new trend of customization of services that are incorporated by all of us nowadays has also hit the operational activities of business tourism. It is not enough to offer bilingual communication and efficient transportation with security.

The high profile international visitor is demanding extreme attention to details, specialized content in their native language and high quality background from their suppliers.
Furthermore, the capacity of planning ahead to predict troubles by finding solutions to solve them and the sensitivity of dealing with cultural differences are other points that make huge difference in the evaluation of the corporate traveler.

They are also considering the intangible benefits related to the visit that involve the feeling of being welcome as well as saving time for what is important personally and the perception of eliminating stress.
In a complex, vibrant and spread-out city like São Paulo comfort, safety and convenience make difference more and more.

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Brooklin neighborhood - southweast of São Paulo, one of the important business centers of the city that comprises high technology international companies - Photo from Percival Tirapeli

Paulista Ave. neighborhood - central south of São Paulo, a dynamic financial business center that also concentrates commercial, residential and entertainment sectors

Depending on their occupation, position and skills the business professionals travel alone, however sometimes they have the opportunity to bring the spouse or husband, the children, a relative or a friend. As tourists, this profile of visitor is in search of authenticity, comfort and unique experiences. After all who does not want to be surprised?

SPin Brazil Tours can provide tailor-made services that focus on the best of São Paulo attractions approaching several aspects. Certainly there will be one that can be of your interest.

Every Grand Prix that took place in São Paulo city, the paulistano citizen reminds the good moments and career of the remarkable racer Ayrton Senna. It is quite difficult to talk to a Brazilian who cannot say where he/she was at the moment that heard or even watched by TV the episode that involved him in a fatal accident at Imola circuit in Italy. Everyone has a detailed story to share about it.

With his personal charisma and authenticy, Senna has incorporated the representation of a hero that Brazil needed during his awarded career. After all at the end of the 80’s and beginning of 90’ of the last century Brazilian citizens were coping with severe economic and social problems. The image of a Brazilian who could face the impossible, challenge luck and surpass limits was the accurate one to work as a decompression valve to people in general by raising their self-esteem and giving them hope.

His impressive life story generated several videos, documentaries, researches and books. It is quite difficult to split the hero from the looser, the saint from the human, the sensitive from the cold calculating man. Like other celebrities who have gone in similar circumstances, the myth has replaced the human being.

I would rather honor Ayrton Senna through his personal features and strenghts like

Cleverness

Top ranked teams of Formula-1 showed interest in Formula 3 racers in 1983. However Senna would rather close with Toleman, a British scuderia owned by Frank Williams.

Perseverence

During his kart experience he trained exhaustively in the rain to beat his competitors. Later racing in the rain during the Grand Prix was one of his unique skills.

In 1984 he played one of his memorable races under torrential rain at Monaco Grand Prix.
Senna was pushing the McLaren champion Alain Prost on and believed he won the race with
a confusing end.

Devotion to workIn 1984 Senna started to work with the Brazilian coach Nuno Cobra, who developed a specific program including physical and mind training to provide him muscular strength and personal balance as well. They have worked together for ten years.Cobra has mentioned in interviews that it has been tough to work with him considering his introvert and quiet style. The Brazilian racer was responsible for a turning point in physical traning for motor racers since then.

Brazil as a brand

By driving the black Lotus car the whole season, he scored 55 points and finished the championship in 4th place again in 1986.

It was the year that he raised the Brazilian flag for the first time during his victory at Detroit GP. The day before Brazilian football team failed during the match with Mexico. Senna has compensated the bad day with a sub-liminal message to Brazilians.

VirtuosityIn 1987 Honda supplied his turbocharged engines to Lotus and became one of his strong partners.

Senna´s perfectionism matched perfectly with the Japanese style. Since his teen-aging time as a kart driver he studied alone how to save time during the race. He divided the circuit in four sections and experienced new lines in each one. The sum of the little gains made a huge difference at the end. This particular feature helped him to develop with the Japanese engineers of Gran Prix detailed telemetry reports that he studied carefully.

"His brain could simulate his all operations on the track such as RPM of engine, gear position, braking point, steering or so with the error by less than a hundredth second. He could adjust himself perfectly in line with his analysis so that he actually ran in 0.6 second faster if he said that he was able to run faster by 0.6 second. Besides, he could memorize all data for the process and condition of his machine. His memory was perfectly same as the telemetry data!" - Yoshitoshi Sakurai

Senna finished the championship just after the Brazilian tri-champion Nelson Piquet, one of his rivals, and Nigel Mansell. The third position was a tremendous differential that propelled him to his next move: the crucial change to McLaren.

Faith and spirituality

With Honda engines in 1988, Senna has made an impeccable season, winning 15 of 16 races and confirming his first victory as F-1 driver’s championship. The decisive race took place at Suzuka, Japan, when Senna faced problems at the start, founding himself in 16th place, made an electrifying recovery, overtook Alain Prost and won in the rain in a memorable performance. At the end he mentioned he experienced another dimension and visualized God in this race. When the journalists asked him if he felt like a world champion, he said “I just feel peace” – an unusual statement for racing drivers.

The question of religiousness and spirituality has also permeated his personal journey and generated controversy. In a male environment like the Grand Prix one, Senna has never had fear to expose himself as a devoted Catholic. Several times he was seen reading his own bible.

Feeling for business

Clever and cold for business Senna knew exactly his value in the market and how to negotiate millionaire agreements in the better way and precise time. The episode was described in the book “The revealed hero” (Herói revelado, in Portuguese) from the Brazilian journalist Ernesto Rodrigues, who have researched his personal and professional life deeply for more than two years. In 1993 Senna made an agreement with Ron Dennis to simulate a misunderstanding widely promoted in the media to press the sponsor Philip Morris to raise his offer. One of his mantras was “no money, no race.” The bluff worked and the amount of one million dollars was often credit just one day before the qualifying tests for each award.

Finitude

In a time when we constantly listen about goals, success and money, Senna is a precious example of motivation, struggle, failure, improvement, recovery, faith, virtuosity, unpredictability and finitude.

On Tamburello curve Senna hit his car with high impact in 1994. The long scene broadcasted by TV all over the world and extensively shown in Brazil was shocking. We could see he was not moving his body and predicted it was fatal.

His death generated enormous commotion not only in Brazil but had a great impact all over the world as he passed away in the top of glory, as an idol in several countries where motor racing is practiced and revered.

Ayrton Senna was revered by his people who cried and prayed for him.

the modest grave of Senna in a cemetery in São Paulo

He is also respected and deeply remembered and admired and by his friends, technicians and colleagues till nowadays. Have a look at this video that focus the tour made by the 2014 bi-world champion Lewis Hamiltonand his colleague Jenson Button at McLaren´s garagewhen they
experienced the legendary '88 car, the MP4-4, driven by Ayrton Senna.

Unfortunately after a long period of his death, the motor racing has faced challenging questions in Brazil. According to specialized journalists and racers, the organizations responsible for the promotion of the sport have not invested enough and the sponsors have also been reduced.

Who hasn't
heard of the Marvelous City? It is the city that draws up Brazil for its
stereotypes and stunning beauty. Rio doesn't disappoint anyone who comes to see
the mix of an urban center and a beach town, with it touristic icons like
Christ, the Redeemer, Sugar Loaf Mountain and the famous beaches of Copacabana,
Ipanema and Barra da Tijuca.

Aerial view from Sugar Loaf, photo by Eliana Souza

Ipanema beach, wikipedia

Tijuca National park and forest

For being the
capital of the country for more than a century and a half, the city preserves
historic Brazilian landmarks with its monuments and museums, and enormous
French influence. Rio was also the precursor of innumerous cultural movements
that left behind roots, such as the creation of samba and bossa nova, for
example. Its festivals, like carnival and New Year's Eve, are reason enough to
highlight the city as an unforgettable destination.

Opera House, photo by Eliana Souza

Selaron stairs, photo by Eliana Souza

Carioca da Gema, traditional bar at Lapa bohemian district

Carnival parade, wikipedia

But, nothing is
more impressive than the relationship between people from Rio, or Cariocas, and
soccer, which is practically considered a religion. The four big teams in the
city, Botafogo, Fluminense, Vasco and Flamengo, are venerated by their
followers and cause commotion in their highly disputed games. It is estimated
that 30 million fans root for Flamengo, considered the most popular team in the
country. Players that have reached international fame, like Jairzinho,
Garrincha, Rivellino, Zico, Ronaldo and Romário, all played for one of these
teams.

Maracana stadium, before the renovation for 2014 world Cup, photo by Artur Bopré

The home of the
giant Maracanã stadium which has hosted around 155 thousand fans, it is there
that games between the four rival teams are played. The stadium was inaugurated
shortly before the 1950 World Cup, in order to be recognized as the biggest in
the world. Five of the six games that Brazil played in the tournament took
place there, including the historic final against Uruguay, when Brazil was
beaten 2 to 1, and generated a national state of shock, which is difficult to
wipe from the memory of Brazilians.

Maraca, as it
is affectionately called by locals, is the stadium that has hosted the most
games played by the Brazilian national soccer team. Several final games in the
Brazilian championships, and many historic games, were also played there, like
the famous soccer player Pelé's game where he made his 1000th goal, and his
last game as part of the national team.

Maracana stadium prepared for 2014 World Cup, photo by Erica Ramalho

Totally
remodeled with a capacity for 78.800 spectators, the stadium will be the stage
for the final game of the World Cup in 2014. It will also host four games in
the group stage, one of the round of 16 and another in the quarterfinals. Brazil
wants to be there, in the final match, following its tradition and repeating
the screenplay of the last Confederations Cup in 2013, when won the tournament
with an expressive score of 3-0 against Spain.

This is the
most important temple for the most popular and idolized sport in Brazil.
Argentina, Spain, Chile and France are other strong contenders to play in the
arena.

June 15th – Sunday - 07:00pm - Argentina
x Bosnia (group F)

June 18th – Wednesday - 07:00pm - Spain x Chile (group B)

June 22nd – Sunday - 07:00pm - Belgium x Russia (group H)

June 25th – Wednesday - 05:00pm - Ecuador
x France (group E)

June 28th – Wednesday - 05:00pm – 1st
of Group C x 2nd of Group D (round of 16)

July 04th – Friday - 01:00pm – 1st of
Group E or 2nd group F x 1st of Group G or 2nd
group H (quarterfinals)

Brazil's first
capital still preserves its strong African influence that permeates its food,
music, dance and religion. With the history alive and well in the streets,
alleys and hills that marks the start of Portuguese colonization, the city
possesses a rich archive of architectural and religious works, which can be
found in its historic center, known as the Pelourinho.

Historical center in Salvador

Itapuã beach, Salvador

Capoeira, Martial arts and dance

Famous for its street
carnival, with the great singers of Axé music, the biggest city in the
Brazilian Northeast also has an ocean coast blessed with beautiful beaches
surrounded by coconut palms.

The classic
Ba-Vi game is the highlight of the dispute between the two favorite rival teams
by Salvador residents. Both Bahia and Vitória compete fiercely at the state
level.

Bahia is famous
for its faithfulness to its fans, who put it as the owner of one of the largest
fan bases in Brazil, which won the trophy of Brazilian Champion in 1988, and
the Taça Brasil in 1959.

Vitória in turn
has won three titles in the Northeastern Cup, and one of vice-champion of the
Brazilian Championship in 1993, after being beaten in the final match by
Palmeiras. The Leão (lion), as Vitória is also known, already produced such
stars and world champs like the forward Bebeto and the goalkeeper Dida.

Fonte Nova Arena

The novelty to
Bahian football is the Fonte Nova Arena, a multiuse stadium with capacity for 55.000 fans. Salvador will host at least three of
the main teams that sealed a spot to participate in 2014. In the first phase,
the city will host four games. In three of them, key players from their groups
will be on the field. The Bahian capital will also host an elimination game in
the round of 16, and one of the quarter finals. The presence of Spain,
Netherlands, France, Portugal and Germany promises some legendary scenes in a remarkable
city in Brazil.